"He doesn't miss" - Sam Cook tipped to replace retirement-bound James Anderson

Jamie Porter, the Essex seamer and multiple County Championship winner, is the latest guest on the Under the Lid podcast, which is produced in partnership by the Professional Cricketers' Association and The Cricketer

Nick Friend | 23/05/2024 at 15:58

Essex seamer Sam Cook is the man to replace James Anderson, believes his new-ball partner Jamie Porter.

Cook, uncapped but widely admired, is one of several seamers to have been touted for an England opportunity following the impending retirement of Anderson, whose final Test will be the first of the summer at Lord's against West Indies.

His first-class record – 293 wickets at 19.32 apiece – sets him out from the crowd, and Rob Key recently described him as "so skilful".

Porter told the Under the Lid podcast, which is produced in partnership by the Professional Cricketers' Association and The Cricketer, that "apart from Jimmy Anderson, I've not seen anyone bowl a better inswinger than him – ever".

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^{The queue to replace Anderson is starting to grow (Getty Images)}

"He doesn't miss," he added. "And then, he can swing it away and nip it both ways, he has a good bouncer. It's impossible to go like for like.

"No one will ever do what he's done in the game, but in terms of the same skillset, I think the one thing you'll lose with Jimmy Anderson is that banker with the new ball. Wherever you are in the world, the new ball is going to be the most important time. He is going to ask the right questions.

"But the only other person I look at who's floating around that I would have the same sort of faith in would be Sam Cook. At the very least, he's going to whack a length, he's going to whack the seam, he's going to ask questions."

Earlier this season, on the same podcast, Cook explained how he keeps "a little black book" of his first-class wickets.

There was a time when Porter's name was at the forefront of these conversations – he was included in the squad to face India in 2018 but never debuted – but he admitted, speaking to Jack Brooks and Katherine Sciver-Brunt, that he felt those days had gone.

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Porter and Cook (centre) have struck up a golden new-ball partnership for Essex (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

"I think my time has been and gone, there are so many good bowlers now in their mid to early 20s," he said.

"I think it's worse when you've had a taste of it. I don't know what I was doing at point, but I've fielded at point in a Test match. I've actually been out on the field, so I still wake up in the morning and think about it. Have a good game and you never know.

"If I'd carried the way I bowled in 2017 and 2018 into 2019, I probably would have played at some point. I didn't bowl very well in 2019, I couldn't tell you why.

"It took me until August to feel like I had any sort of rhythm or control over my game; ultimately, I think that allowed other people to overtake me. It probably took me until the last two years to feel like I was back towards my best. I don't have any excuses or bitterness as to why I didn't play."

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